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I'm new to the Math StackExchange, but I am puzzled by the downvotes on this question:

Am I properly simplifying this geometric progression?

I tried to be as clear as possible, to show that I had put some effort into finding a solution, and to be as specific as I knew how to. I've received some number of downvotes without comment, and so I do not know what I might have done wrong. Therefore, I cannot assume I will not make the same mistake again.

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    $\begingroup$ I have added (specific-question) tag, see the tag-info. If you want to ask about a more general issue and the linked question was meant just as an example, feel free to remove the tag. $\endgroup$
    – Martin Sleziak
    Feb 24, 2019 at 20:32
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    $\begingroup$ I just looked at your question and I don't see any particular reason why it should get any down votes. To me, it looks like a fairly well written & appropriate type question for this site. There are, IMHO, quite a few more poorly written questions that get quite a few up votes & no down votes. Also, note you only got one down vote, so unless this person provides an explanation, you can't know for sure what their issue is. In general, getting a down vote (especially if it's only one) doesn't necessarily mean you did anything specifically wrong. $\endgroup$
    – John Omielan
    Feb 24, 2019 at 21:48
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    $\begingroup$ It's fine. You gave all the relevant information and made it clear what you were asking. I think there are one or two users who downvote any piece of maths with a mistake in, but it someone is asking "Is this right?" it seems reasonable to expect possible mistakes and not downvote them! I don't think you should worry about it. $\endgroup$
    – timtfj
    Feb 24, 2019 at 23:57
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    $\begingroup$ "puzzled by the downvotes on this question." Right now, there seems to be only one downvote. Perhaps you should edit your post to say "downvote"? $\endgroup$
    – JRN
    Feb 25, 2019 at 1:56
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    $\begingroup$ @JoelReyesNoche I don't have the reputation to see the vote breakdown, so I wasn't aware it was only a single downvote. Sorry about that! $\endgroup$
    – Bryan Porter
    Feb 25, 2019 at 1:57
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    $\begingroup$ I agree that the question is fine, but one possible trigger for the down-vote is that you use an asterisk for multiplication. It's not the that the question is unclear in any way, but it does look slightly less professional. Instead, you could use \times or (often better) \cdot to make everything look more slick. It would be IMHO ridiculous to down-vote on that point alone, but that's about my best guess. $\endgroup$
    – Theo Bendit
    Feb 28, 2019 at 12:05
  • $\begingroup$ Thank you for the feedback, I wasn't aware of that markup. I've edited the original question to reflect your feedback. $\endgroup$
    – Bryan Porter
    Mar 1, 2019 at 19:06
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    $\begingroup$ There a lot of mean people that downvote decent posts just for the pleasure of being obnoxious. Welcome to math people world. I've had good posts downvoted for no reason. $\endgroup$
    – user630964
    Mar 5, 2019 at 22:22

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